It’s a hot topic in general, but recently it’s come up a lot in my conversations: publishing. The question facing many of us writers is no longer when we want to get published, but how. Book, journal, chapbook? Self-publish, or go through a big house or a small press? Blog, or write e-books? Publishing is experiencing the same contractions music publishing has been dealing with for years (and still hasn’t fully figured out).

Image: Wikimedia Commons
Traditional feeling stays close to the cliché of “publish or perish.” Publication (in a book, by a big or small press) is the end goal of writing, everyone says, and thence everyone strives. You write and write and write, and someday, if you’re good enough, you will be rewarded. It’s a good goal and an old one, and no doubt the mercilessness of editorial decisions inspires many writers to become better then they would otherwise be. But it is not, as yet, a goal I have pursued. The simplest reason is that I haven’t any finished work to send out. The few short stories I’ve completed do not live up to my own standards — I wouldn’t want them representing me, out in the world — and I’m still developing my voice/format for the pictures-and-words stuff.
But I have another reason, and it is that currently, where I’m at in my creative career, I don’t feel that seeking traditional publication is the best use of my time. Why do people publish? To obtain support (financial and other), recognition, contacts, and opportunities. Perhaps in future I’ll shake my head at these youthful delusions of self-competency, but I don’t feel that I presently lack those things. I could do with more, of course; one can always do with more; but I’m busy enough as it is… and thanks to my DIY and internet experience, I’m accustomed to a high level of control over my work and my public presence, and to directness and intimacy in my personal connections. And since my work doesn’t fit neatly into categories of fiction or memoir, prose or poetry, artwork or text, it feels natural to consider alternative and more fluid methods of publication as well.
I’m not the only one thinking about these things. Ré’s recent post followed close after Lisa’s at The Story River (both with lively discussions in the comments), and over the weekend the subject came up with Jen Palmares Meadows as we shared a breakfast-for-lunch. These were the points that struck me:
- Lisa wrote, “There is still some stigma attached to self-publishing, and writers as well as publishers still feel self-publishing is done only when no one else wants your manuscript.” This is true, especially since many self-published books are poorly edited and — I’ll say it flat out — ugly.
- Yet there are also self-published e-books outselling the ones by established writers, as Huge indicated in comments on Ré’s post; you can read the FAQ on Lisa Genova’s amazing Still Alice to hear the self-publishing success story of that book. Of course, as in the case of Etsy, just because some people have been able to quit their day job doesn’t mean everyone will (and in the meantime, the famous successes will drive a whole lot of cruddy product onto the market).
- Ré wrote that in some cases there’s an adversarial relationship between publishers and bloggers, when a publication refuses to accept a piece that’s already been “published” on a blog, no matter how tiny. This reminds me a little of music companies suing college students for downloading illegal music — you can fill a bucket but buddy, ain’t no way you can stop the tide!
- It’s not just publication that’s in question here, but a whole mindset about how artists publicize and get paid for their work. Way back when, there used to be patronage, and more recently publishers, galleries, record companies, etc have stepped in to fill that gap. Now we have grassroots funding methods like IndieGoGo and Kickstarter — or even the good ol’ PayPal “Donate” button. Is this sustainable? And if it is (maybe even if it isn’t), how does it change our outlook toward allying ourselves with traditional outlets for sharing our work?
I am a book person and likely always will be; I love the way they look, feel, smell (sometimes), fill my bookshelves and weigh down my backpack (sort of). I’d like to publish a book someday, even books in the plural. But I am also a child of the internet, a devotee of the one-of-a-kind and artisanal, and a supporter of experimentation in art. I feel no need to bow down before a single form of publication, any more than I am willing to confine my work to a single genre or medium. Change is afoot — at least I fervently hope so — and I count myself lucky to be a part of it, both as a consumer and, I hope, as a creator.
I love books, too. I love paper in my hand and the ability to put it on a shelf and come back to it whenever I want, without looking for a cord or hoping I remembered to charge a battery. I don’t know how that may change once I can afford a book reader (or whatever the correct term for it is.) But those inevitable changes you speak of, are coming at us all faster than we can blink. I’m glad you’re among those who are not only prepared for it, but welcoming it– embracing it and eager to make your own place within it. You sound like the good kind of mad scientist. The one who’s thinking of the common good as well as her own interests, and relishing the thought of playing around with the chemistry of the new discoveries.
My own head is still spinning, but the conversation (definitely your contribution) is helping me prepare to wrap my mind around it.
The only time I wish I had a reader instead of a book is when I’m preparing for a weekend away, and am standing by my bookshelves weighing books in my hands, trying to figure out the minimum number I can bring and still carry my bag!
Love the thought of me as a good mad scientist. 😉 I hope my creative and community development will always keep pace with the times. Growing up in Silicon Valley in a techie age has to be good for something, right? 🙂
We’ve talked about this subject some by now, but there were so many new things to ponder on in this post. The one that startled me, and then made me laugh, was the very simple, ‘why’ question. Why indeed do we feel the need to be published as writers? I hate to say it, but to be brutally honest, I want to be published to try and shut up the inner critic. Well, probably that won’t shut her up either, but you might know what I mean. It’s to attain a spot where strangers pause and say, ‘that was good’. I want to send readers off into my imaginary worlds and have those worlds be just as real and hard to leave for them. And, being honest again, money would be nice. Which brings me full circle to the questions that started our discussions. Once we know why, then what remains is how, and embedded in that is another why to ask of each answer to the how…
I’ve posted before about the power of asking seemingly stupid little questions! “Why?” is one of the best of these, but we so rarely really ask it of ourselves!
Speaking of the implacable inner critic, today I found this amazing post on success dysmorphia. The inner critic is never satisfied!
You wrote, “You write and write and write, and someday, if you’re good enough, you will be rewarded.” I’d like to believe that’s true but I don’t. Lots of flops are published and many gems are ignored and I think that marketability counts more than talent these days. *sigh*
You said it, Anna! I read a devastatingly good story online last month, that was so brilliant, it made me think, “Yeah, I’m just not good enough, yet.” Then I read more of the article that presented it, and found out that this story had been rejected all over the place. You are so right. It just doesn’t seem to be about talent and good work.
True, Anna. It’s the myth we’re fed (“good work will be rewarded”) and yet we all know it’s not true… or at least not true in all cases. But as I heard Greg Rucka say once: “The only thing you can control about your writing, is the writing. You can’t control how good it is or how it’s received or whether it gets published. You can only write.” Write and — I would add, for this era — blog, market yourself, and self-publish your e-book! No waiting for publishers unless we want to.
May I add another answer to the “Why?” …….is it also to entertain ? and I don’t mean in a trivial way. Good fiction writing or poetry has to have an “entertainment” element in there somewhere, even if it’s just a tad. Take “The Road” for instance. Gloomy, depressing read and film – but it had to entertain or you wouldn’t keep turning the page or watching the film. This is where the market comes in and the market doesn’t always know what it wants. Aaannndd, because the market sometimes doesn’t know what it wants – that’s where new creative writers/ writing comes in – you, Ré, Anna et al. This is where you prod the blancmange (remember them) and say “Hey, over here ! ” Somehow control has to be wrested from the vested interests in publishing or they have to catch up with a changing world. Maybe this is where artists and writers collectives should come in – be prominant – dynamic. Do they still exist in that way ? At the root of it all for any artist,writer, poet is faith and belief that you have something to offer. Trite, I know. A little aside:
My son graduated with a BA in Jazz (!) (he’s a sax player) and the closing speaker at his grad ceremony was British saxophonist Alan Barnes. What he said stuck with me – proud Dad –
“Now, you lot (waves his hand to the throng) go out there and IMPROVISE. You don’t want to get to your deathbed and wish you had !! ” Seems like a maxim for life, to me.
Oh yes, Al, I want to improvise! Thanks for reminding us to just do it!
Ack Alan, I wanted to respond to this much sooner! Yes, thank you so much for pointing out entertainment! Or education, at that! I can’t believe I forgot that.
I love what you are saying about artists’ collectives. I have wondered several times, since the IWL workshop, whether some of us should get together and start some kind of… something. One of my classmates suggested a zine, which I guess in the online world could translate into something different. I was just over at the comments of my post about The Tree of Life film, which is about experimentation, and after my week of performances and get-togethers for our anthology release, I’ve been thinking about that a lot. I have felt so inspired and nurtured by this experimental group of writers, I want to make sure that spirit keeps on.